I never say things like this, but that woman is the
Whoa. The
Her shoulders tightened and she busied herself by grabbing her fruit knife and slicing up fresh peaches to demonstrate the miracle action of the Monarch 5000.
“I didn’t like her, either,” I confessed.
“I’m so glad to hear that, Brooklyn,” she said. “I don’t like to speak ill of anyone, but she’s just a mean person. I don’t know what Solomon sees in her.”
“So they’re still dating?”
“If you want to call it that. But I’ve seen her with other men,” she whispered. “I call that cheating.”
“Have you had some run-ins with her?”
“Multiple run-ins,” she said, emphasizing every syllable. “I live in the Hollow, and my church members over there are my best customers. I’m always stopping by to drop off the latest updates on dehydrators and survivalist tools, plus I hand out free samples of my family’s orchard products. Everybody loves those.”
“I know I do,” Mom piped up.
Crystal grinned as she continued slicing up fruit. “Since Solomon is such a good customer, I’ve stopped by his place a few times, too. He’s been so nice to me, I like to bring him baked goods and things. The last few times I’ve come by, he’s told me I can come anytime and I think he means it in a special way. But Angelica is so rude. She actually threatened me once. I know it’s because she’s jealous that Solomon shows an interest in me. She chased me all the way out to my car the other day and said horrible things. It made me so mad, I wanted…oh.” She dropped the knife as blood spurted from her finger.
“Oh, goodness,” Mom said, grabbing a napkin and wrapping it around Crystal’s finger.
“Thanks, Mrs. Wainwright. I’m such a klutz sometimes.”
“What are you whispering about over there?” Melody asked, staring pointedly at her sister. “Get over here. I’ve sold two more dehydrators.”
“OMG, yay,” Crystal said unsteadily, then tried to laugh, but it came out a nervous titter. “Gosh, Brooklyn, you really got me going about that woman.”
“I’m so sorry.” I touched Crystal’s arm in sympathy. “Believe me, she used to drive me crazy, too.”
“So it’s not just me?” She loosened, then pressed the napkin tighter around the cut. “That’s a relief. LOL.”
Chapter 16
“I’m going to have to buy a new dehydrator just to assuage my guilt,” I said as I absently swirled the wine in my glass.
Mom nodded. “As long as you’re buying into the guilt, you can’t go wrong with the Monarch 5000.”
As the sun fell behind the ridge, Mom and I sat outside on the terrace, tasting the latest pinot noir Dad had brought home. He’d thought Mom would appreciate its lighter, elegant cherry and mocha tones, and he was right. I liked it, too.
Now that the sun was gone, the air cooled quickly and I wrapped my jacket a little tighter around me. I was waiting for Derek to arrive before Gabriel swung by to pick us up and drive us to Max’s for our nightly meeting.
“I really don’t need a dehydrator,” I said. “But I hated pumping her for so much information. Maybe I should buy one to pay her back.”
“It’s all for a good cause, sweetie.”
“I guess so. And she really wanted to talk. But it was awful to hear her talk about Angelica. It made me remember how nasty she was to me. I feel sorry for anyone who’s ever had to deal with that woman.”
“Yes, but you need to let it go. Crystal seemed to enjoy our visit.”
Poor Crystal. I could relate to her having to put up with the mean and nasty Angelica, but it flipped me out that Crystal was so enamored of Solomon. Had the guy really changed that much in the years since I’d known him? I doubted it. He had always been a ladies’ man, and now it looked like he was buttering up Crystal to make his move on her. I didn’t believe for a minute that he was faithful to Angelica.
The thought of him hitting on Crystal made me cringe, but Crystal didn’t seem to mind. She was so innocent, she didn’t even seem to realize that he might be trying to lure her into his bed. She had no clue just how manipulative he could be.
I took another sip of the pinot and tasted the dark cherry tones Dad was talking about, along with a hint of raspberry. “So Solomon has only recently developed an interest in survivalist stuff. Coincidence? Just when the
“Of course it is,” Mom said. “I don’t know the man, but if he’s living in the Hollow, he’s surrounded by Ogunites. And you know how they are. Not rough, exactly.”
“No, just rugged individualists,” I said dryly, finishing her thought. “Even the sheriff used to avoid going down there.”
“Yes, but it’s been cleaned up quite a bit since then.”
“It can’t be too awful if Crystal goes there every day to sell her products.”
“She lives there, too, and she knows those people,” Mom pointed out. “And she can take care of herself.”
“I’ll say.” I chuckled. “She’s a little naive, but physically she’s tougher than most men I know.”
“Now, Brooklyn, Crystal Byers is a lovely girl,” Mom proclaimed, then added under her breath, “Big-boned, but lovely.” She tasted her wine, then smoothed a wrinkle out of the tablecloth. “You know, she and Melody come by here every few weeks to buy apples, so I keep up-to-date with them.”
“But they already grow apples out at their place,” I said, confused. “Why do they come here?”
“Their orchards only produce Gravensteins so they come here to buy my varieties.”
“Ah.” Mom liked to experiment with all sorts of apple varieties-Gala, Fuji, two different types of Delicious, Granny Smith. She didn’t sell her apples commercially or at the farmer’s market, so she wasn’t under the same constraints as the farmers whose apples were their main source of income. Apple-wise, Gravensteins were the biggest moneymakers in our area.
“Of course, I didn’t realize I was subsidizing her jewelry business when I sold her my beautiful apples,” she said, laughing.
“Maybe you can work out a deal,” I said. “Dried-fruit earrings for every occasion.”
“There are my girls,” said a cheerful male voice.
We both turned as Dad and Derek walked across the terrace. They each carried wineglasses and looked happy to see us.
Mom sighed. “Have you ever seen such a handsome sight, Brooklyn? I’ll take the cute, rangy one on the right.”
I laughed. “Fine with me. I’ve got dibs on the dark-eyed, dangerous one.”
“A fine choice.”
“I think so,” I murmured. Derek’s eyes never left me as he approached, set his glass down, then sat down next to me. I snuggled up close and was instantly warm and cozy.
Dad leaned over and kissed Mom. “What’ve you two been plotting?”
“Sit and relax, and we’ll tell you.”
“I’m more interested in what you two have been plotting,” I said. Ever since I found out that Dad had played a prominent role in Max’s disappearance, I’d been grilling him for information. He’d filled in some of the blanks on Solomon, but I hadn’t known until Crystal mentioned it that the man was a member of the Ogunite church. I had no idea what significance that held, if any. Dad didn’t know, either.
Derek said he’d make a note to look into the group’s background; then Mom gave an abbreviated rundown of our conversation with Crystal that morning. I added comments here and there.
“I don’t know those boys, Stefan and Bennie,” Dad said.
Mom reminded him that Benjamin Styles had been in London’s high school class, and Dad nodded. “Now I remember him. He’s been in some trouble before. Arrested for attempted burglary. Road racing. Idiot stuff.”
